Neighbors of a huge sinkhole sending cascades of contaminated water and fertilizer plant waste into Florida's main drinking-water aquifer are fearful and fuming that it took weeks for them to be notified about the disaster.

Many are still waiting anxiously for test results from their wells, and the company belatedly acknowledged that the groundwater contamination is spreading.

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So far, more than 200 million gallons of tainted water from the central Florida fertilizer plant owned by Mosaic Co. has drained from a waste heap through a 45-foot-wide hole down into the Floridan aquifer, which provides water to millions of people in the state.

The company said Wednesday that it's starting to see contamination in tests of monitoring wells at the site, which shows the waste has spread.